Barbara Nothegger - Seven Story Village

When Barbara Nothegger became a mother in 2013, she and her family took the plunge and moved to a communal living project in Vienna. About 100 people got together and built an alternative living space with flexible apartments, communal gardens, open space for kids, and an ecological lifestyle. The community’s members wanted to be there for each other, just like people were in traditional villages. But how can community work in a world marked by individualism? Are communal living projects an answer to pressing issues of modern life such as isolation, rising rents, and increasingly depleted resources? Barbara Nothegger takes a look at similar living projects in Germany and Switzerland and demonstrates how good neighborhood ties create a better quality of life. She humorously portrays her own path to happiness in the communal living project.